23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.Verse 24 says the man reacted straightway or immediately. Just reading what the man said about believing and unbelieving appears confusing. In Greek there are two words in the New Testament for unbelief: apeitheia and apistia. Apeitheia is an obstinate opposition to something, whereas apistia is a word meaning distrust, lack of faith, weakness in faith. (Apeitheia and apistia link). In this record the word for unbelief is apistia.
24And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
The father said he believed but evidently something was holding him back. It wasn't an adamant refusal to believe God, it was a lack of faith or trust. He did say he believed, yet he knew he didn't fully trust God in every area of his life. So he asked for help. He dealt with his weakness in believing.
It is a great lesson to learn to say "Lord I believe, help my distrust! The spirit of God doesn't control us. The other god tries to do that. The adversary works throughout the systems of the world to get us hooked and controlled by his solutions. His systems and methods surround us. It is in the acknowledgement of where we can obtain help, that brings solutions. By our own free will, we choose to believe God, His word and what He accomplished in Jesus Christ. Our minds become refreshed with love and hope and that brings strength.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.That is the way God designed us.
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